The Elmhurst College World Music Series 2014-15 will celebrate the music of Brazil, France and Italy during its main concert on Sunday, November 9.

The kickoff concert will include the music of Hector Villa-Lobos, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, a French symphonic work featuring Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel’s newly refurbished organ, and the world première of a piece composed by Elmhurst College faculty member Edgar Gabriel.

Among the performers will be organist and Elmhurst adjunct faculty member David Christiansen, performing on the Chapel’s refurbished 1960 Moller organ; soprano and Elmhurst adjunct faculty member Susan Dennis; composer and Latin fiddler Edgar Gabriel; guitarist and Elmhurst adjunct faculty member Steve Suvada; the Elmhurst College Cello Choir, under the direction of Elmhurst adjunct faculty member Jean Hatmaker; the Elmhurst College Jazz Band, under the direction of Jazz Studies Director Doug Beach; and the Elmhurst College Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Assistant Professor of Music Joanne May.

The main concert of the Elmhurst College World Music Series will begin at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 9, in Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for students and seniors, and free for Elmhurst College students and staff with a JPass. Tickets can be purchased at the door.

The World Music Series continues in November with two additional concerts.

The Elmhurst College Music Classical Guitar Ensemble performs Canciones de España, or Songs from Spain, on Friday, November 14, at 7:30 p.m. in Buik Recital Hall. Under the direction of Steve Suvada, this student ensemble will feature works by Albeniz, Assad, Boccherini and Morel, as well as traditional music from Spain and Catalonia. General admission is $5. Tickets may be purchased at the door.

The Kontras String Quartet begins its own music series on Saturday, November 22, with Geselligheid: Music of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky. Geselligheid is a word and concept known well to Dutch, German and Afrikaans speakers, though it has no direct English translation. Gesellig is a sense of coziness, of being with loved ones, of celebrating a common joy together.

Kontras, which means “contrasts” in Afrikaans, is a fitting name for the unique ensemble, whose members hail from Europe, Africa, Asia and North America, and whose diversity informs the group’s interest in music from their home countries of Russia, South Africa, Japan and the U.S.

Geselligheid: Music of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky begins at 1:30 p.m. on November 22 in Buik Recital Hall. General Admission is $20. Tickets may be purchased at the door or online.